Game console with random selection device

ABSTRACT

A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber, an outer chamber receiving the ball-scrambling chamber and an electrostatic discharge mat disposed on a wall of the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball-scrambling chamber accommodates at least one associated ball and includes a ball outlet. The ball guide communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber via the ball outlet. The ball-scrambling chamber includes an air impermeable wall.

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/461,478 filed Apr. 9, 2003,which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This invention relates to a random selection device. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a device for randomly selectinggame balls that are used for bingo or lottery-type games. The device canbe employed in a console.

[0003] A traditional bingo console consists of an enclosure containing aball-scrambling chamber, an analog signal based camera placed on top ofthe console, a ball tray, a ball holding chamber, and computerelectronics incorporating an operator video display. The ball-scramblingchamber typically is dimensioned such that it can contain either 75 or90 bingo balls sequentially numbered. A blower motor communicates withthe ball-scrambling chamber to mix the bingo balls via airflow.Eventually, random balls proceed up a ball extraction tube from theball-scrambling chamber. The console operator then receives the ballfrom the tube and places it in front of the camera. The camera providesa direct analog image of the ball to one or more TV monitors located inthe bingo facility to provide the players with a clear view of thelatest random ball number.

[0004] The operator then places the ball into the ball tray and callsout the ball number to the players. The ball tray contains 75 or 90holes, each numbered with a sequential ball number. Beneath each hole isa corresponding switch. All of the 75 or 90 switches are typically wiredin a switch matrix fashion. The matrix is then cabled to a computer thatperiodically scans the switch matrix to detect the operator insertion ofa ball into one of the holes and the activation of one of the switches.The computer then displays the ball number for the operator on a localdisplay and then transmits the ball information to one or more remoteflashboards. The balls are held in the ball tray until the completion ofthe bingo game. The balls are then manually released into a ball holdingchamber. From there, they are manually released back into theball-scrambling chamber.

[0005] The known random game selection devices or random numbergenerators exhibit many shortcomings. First, there are several issueswith a camera placed on the top of the console. The camera requires apower and signal cable to operate and the cable is exposed to theoperators. With physical abuse during daily gaming activities, the cablecan periodically fail. Second, the spherical white surface of the bingoball reflects the overhead lighting in the facility into the camera andcauses a hot spot or bright white glare to appear somewhere on thecamera image of the ball. If the hot spot is located on the number andlettering of the ball, it detracts from the quality of the ball imageand sometimes makes it difficult for the player to read the number.Third, the camera is a popular item for use in surveillance systems andoften gets stolen from the bingo console.

[0006] Console noise can also be an issue for the operator and players.The high speed blower fan and resulting rushing air noise coupled withthe bingo balls bouncing off the ball chamber surfaces, and each other,can make it difficult for the console operator to hear other events.

[0007] Static electricity within the ball-scrambling chamber, created bythe high velocity air movement and ambient air conditions, canaccumulate on insulating plastic surfaces of the ball chamber and theplastic balls. The attractive forces of the static electricity canbecome so strong that the bingo ball is attracted to the sidewalls ofthe chamber and will not move until the static forces are removed.Obviously, with this occurrence on one or more bingo balls, random ballnumbers will no longer be, delivered from the ball-scrambling chamber.

[0008] The delivery of the ball from the chamber is via a tube with aninner diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the bingoball. The ball must travel vertically upwards until exiting the end ofthe tube that is located outside of the ball chamber and somewhere nearthe operator. There are some variations of bingo games in which theoperator calls balls very quickly, on the order of one ball every secondor two. This requires that the balls be delivered in rapid successionfrom the ball chamber. It also implies that the operator must be able toquickly grab the ball, place it in front of the camera, place it in theball tray, and then quickly grab the next ball from the tube. Typically,when the ball-scrambling chamber has a significant number of ballslocated in it, the balls are delivered up the tube in a fairly quickmanner since multiple ball collisions result in many balls beingdirected towards the air flow path and the extraction tube opening.However, when the ball-scrambling chamber only has a few ballsremaining, minimal or no ball collisions occur. The unrestricted airpatterns within the chamber coupled with the back pressure created bythe ball tube system make it difficult and time consuming for the lastfew balls to be extracted from the chamber.

[0009] A bingo gaming session can be quite long, on the order of four ormore hours, and operators normally enjoy drinks when seated at theconsole. Occasionally the drinks are spilled into the ball trayopenings, onto the switches under the ball tray holes, and into thebottom of the ball holding chamber. Typically the spilled liquidcontaminates the electrical contacts on the ball switches causing switchmalfunction.

[0010] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a random selection gamedevice and a console that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings andprovides better and more advantageous results.

SUMMARY

[0011] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scramblingchamber, a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber,an outer chamber receiving the ball-scrambling chamber and anelectrostatic discharge mat disposed on a wall of the ball-scramblingchamber. The ball-scrambling chamber accommodates at least oneassociated ball and includes a ball outlet. The ball guide communicateswith the ball-scrambling chamber via the ball outlet. Theball-scrambling chamber includes an air impermeable wall.

[0012] A random gaming selection device console includes a housing, aball-scrambling chamber attached to the housing, a ball support forsupporting an associated ball that has been removed from theball-scrambling chamber and a camera disposed in the housing. The camerais positioned to picture the associated ball on the ball support.

[0013] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scramblingchamber, a ball support communicating with the ball-scrambling chamber,and a light source. The light source is positioned adjacent to anddirects light towards the ball support to illuminate an associated ballheld therein.

[0014] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scramblingchamber, a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exitedthe ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide in communication with theball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide is located outside theball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide includes a ball inlet forreceiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet fordelivering balls towards the ball support. The ball guide includes atleast one vent opening spaced from the ball inlet and the ball outlet.

[0015] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scramblingchamber, a ball support including a ball seat for supporting associatedballs that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guidecommunicating with the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide includesa ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and aball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support. The balloutlet is positioned vertically to the ball seat.

[0016] A random gaming selection device includes a console having aball-scrambling chamber, a ball support for supporting associated ballsthat have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide. The ballguide is pivotally mounted to the console and located outside theball-scrambling chamber, the ball guide includes a ball inlet forreceiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet fordelivering balls towards the ball support.

[0017] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scramblingchamber, a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exitedthe ball-scrambling chamber, an extraction tube disposed in theball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide disposed outside theball-scrambling chamber, wherein the ball guide communicates with theball extraction tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The invention may take physical from in certain parts andarrangements of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be describedin detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and wherein:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the random selection game deviceaccording to the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a cross section of a console of the device of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a ball guide used forthe game device of FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the ball guide of FIG. 3 with anair director attached to the ball guide;

[0023]FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternative ballguide support bracket of the game device of FIG. 1;

[0024]FIG. 5 is an enlarged, schematic, cross section of a camera andthe ball support illustrating optical paths of the game device of FIG.1; and,

[0025]FIG. 5A is a top view of an LED board of FIG. 5 indicating theapproximate placement of the LEDs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are forpurposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention onlyand not for purposes of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows a random gamingselection device 10. The device 10 is used to generate random numbers ingames such as lotteries and bingo, and can be used in other environmentsto generate random numbers or the like. The device generally includes aball console 12 and an electronics portion 14. The electronics portion14 can include an operator display 16 and can communicate with the ballconsole 12. Further description of the electronics portion 12 is foundin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/409,718 filed Apr. 9, 2003 andentitled “Modular Bingo Console System with Multi-Port Communicationsand Manual Play Mode,” which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0027] The ball console 12 includes a console housing 20, an innerball-scrambling chamber 22 attached to the housing, an outer protectivechamber 24 also attached to the housing, and a ball tray 26 located atthe top of the housing. The ball console 12 and the electronics portion14 can be in separate, adjacent enclosures, as illustrated in FIG. 1, orintegrated into a single console (not illustrated).

[0028] The ball-scrambling chamber 22, as the name implies, contains theballs while they are scrambled under the influence of airflow. Theball-scrambling chamber 22 is defined by a curved front wall 30 made ofa solid thermally formed plastic material. The curved front wallattaches to a rear wall 32, which comprises a portion of the consolehousing 20. The rear wall 32 can include a highly reflective surface,such as a mirror, facing the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The reflectivesurface on the rear wall 32 of the chamber provides a mirror-like effectin that the ball-scrambling chamber 22 appears to the players to belarger and deeper than it actually is. The reflective surface also givesthe appearance of more ball action and more balls being scrambled thanwhat is actually contained within the ball-scrambling chamber 22.

[0029] The ball-scrambling chamber 22 also includes an air inlet 34formed in a bottom wall 36 of the chamber and a ball outlet 38 formed inan inner lid 150 of the chamber. A second outer chamber lid 40 ishingedly attached to the housing 20 to provide access to theball-scrambling chamber 22. The air inlet 34 communicates with an airblower (not shown) that generates an air flow in the ball-scramblingchamber 22.

[0030] The air inlet 34 communicates with a duct 44 which is in fluidcommunication with an air blower (not shown). The air blower or fan canbe AC line powered and delivers high velocity air through a perforatedmetal screen 46 mounted adjacent the air inlet 34. The screen 46precludes balls in the ball-scrambling chamber 22 from falling into theduct 44. A non-conductive standoff 48 attaches to the center of themetal screen 46 and helps guide the balls upward in a straight lineabout the center of the airflow path.

[0031] The high-velocity airflow in the ball-scrambling chamber 22coupled with the numerous balls colliding with the chamber walls 30, 32and each other results in a substantial amount of noise. The outerprotective chamber 24 is defined by a curved front wall 52 also made ofa solid thermally formed plastic material. The front wall 52 attaches tothe same rear wall 32 as the front wall 30 of the inner chamber 22 andis covered by the lid 40. The outer lid 40 is not physically attached toinner lid 150. The front wall 52 of the outer chamber 24 is spaced fromthe front wall 30 of the inner chamber 22, which can be on the order ofseveral inches, to create an air gap between the two. The front wall 52of the outer chamber 24 serves as a mechanical protection for the innerchamber 22. Furthermore, the air gap between the walls 30 and 52provides a reduction in radiated sound to the operator and players sincethe balls collide with the solid, air impermeable, inner chamber wall 30and the wall 52 of the outer chamber 24 is rigid to minimize thetransmission of the sound waves through the outer wall 52. This methodof construction reduces noise compared to a bingo console otherwiseconstructed in a somewhat similar manner but having only a singleball-scrambling chamber or a ball-scrambling chamber having anair-permeable wall.

[0032] The high-velocity airflow in the ball-scrambling chamber 22, theplastic material used to make the balls, the plastic material used tomake the ball-scrambling chamber front wall 30 and the ambienttemperature and humidity conditions all contribute to the accumulationof static electricity in the ball-scrambling chamber. To mitigate theeffects of static electricity on the extraction of balls from theball-scrambling chamber 22, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) orantistatic mat 54 is placed on the bottom wall 36 of the ball-scramblingchamber. The ESD mat 54 can cover the entire bottom wall 36 of theball-scrambling chamber 22. The ESD mat 54 includes an opening 56 thatsurrounds the air inlet 34 to allow air into the ball-scrambling chamber22. The ESD mat 54 and/or the bottom wall 36 of the ball-scramblingchamber 22 can be sloped toward the air inlet 22 to direct balls thathave fallen to the bottom of the ball-scrambling chamber toward the airinlet, and thus toward the air flow leading toward the ball outlet 38.

[0033] The ESD mat 54 can also facilitate noise reduction in the gamingdevice. Balls that are being scrambled in the ball-scrambling chamber 22that do not exit the chamber typically fall back toward the bottom wall36 of the chamber before being redirected upward by the airflow. The ESDmat 54 can be made of a rubberized material that deadens the sound ofthe ball, further reducing the noise. Furthermore, since balls that donot exit the ball-scrambling chamber 22 typically fall onto the ESD mat54, the dissipation of static electricity is further aided by having amat that at least covers a substantial portion of the bottom wall 36 ofthe ball-scrambling chamber 22.

[0034] To further facilitate the dissipation of the static electricityin the ball-scrambling chamber 22, an ESD or antistatic strip 58 linesthe lower internal circumference of ball-scrambling chamber. Theantistatic strip 58 is made of any material that inhibits the productionof static charges and attraction of the balls toward the ball-scramblingchamber walls 30, 32. The height of the strip 58 is greater than theradius of a typical bingo ball, which keeps the ball from the chamberwall 30 to greatly reduce the static force. The thickness of the strip58 is significantly less than the diameter of a typical bingo ball sothat a ball cannot rest on the top of the strip against the chamberwall. In one embodiment, the antistatic strip 58 is made of rubber,which is durable enough to withstand the constant impact of the ballswithout wearing out the surface in any reasonable amount of time, yetsoft enough that the balls are not damaged by their impact.

[0035] Additionally, a conductive wire 62 can be wrapped around theantistatic strip 58 in a helical fashion over the entire length of thestrip. The wire 62 is in contact with a top surface of the ESD mat 54when placed around the strip. The wire 62 provides that the antistaticstrip 58 is at the same voltage potential as the ESD mat 54 and alsoensures there is no voltage potential across the surfaces of the strip.The conductive wire 62 is small in diameter and does not present a largeenough surface for static electricity to accumulate.

[0036] Returning back to following the path of the balls through thedevice, the balls exit the ball-scrambling chamber 22 via a ballextraction tube 64 that is aligned with the air inlet 34 of theball-scrambling chamber. The extraction tube 64 includes a ball cone 66at an inlet 68 to the tube. The extraction tube 64 mounts to the lid 150of the ball-scrambling chamber 22 and communicates at an outlet 72 witha ball guide 74 that delivers the extracted ball toward the operator ofthe device 10.

[0037] As seen in FIG. 2, the ball guide 74 has a substantially rightbend so that the ball is delivered along a substantially horizontal pathtoward the ball tray 26. With reference to FIG. 3, the ball guide 74 ismade of wire constructed into a circular form to guide the ball. Theball guide 74 includes a collar 76, preferably metal, that inserts intoopening 38 (FIG. 2) in the ball-scrambling chamber lid 40 and defines aninlet 78 for the ball guide. The ball guide 74 can rotate within theopening 38 about the collar 76. The ball guide 74 includes a downwarddeflector 82 adjacent an outlet 84 of the ball guide. The downwarddeflector directs a ball traveling along the horizontal portion of theball guide 74 towards a ball support and seat 86 disposed adjacent theoutlet 84. The seat 86 is disposed below the outlet 84 and thehorizontal portion of the ball guide 74 so that a ball that resides inthe seat 86 does not roll back into the ball-scrambling chamber 22 whenthe blower is turned off. The seat 86 includes an opening 88 having adiameter slightly less that the diameter of the ball. The ball can restin the opening 88 of the seat 86. A stopper 92, which is positionedadjacent the seat 86, can stop the movement of the ball along thehorizontal path directing the ball towards the seat. A peg 94 isprovided at the end of the ball support 86 so that the ball guide 74 canattach to a structure, such as a ball guide support bracket 100, tosupport the ball guide 74.

[0038] The ball console 12 further addresses the issue of static buildupby employing a ball guide 74 including a metallic material. Any chargeaccumulated on the balls during their journey from the ball-scramblingchamber 22 is distributed and dissipated into the mass of the metal ballguide 74, and normalized with operator contact with the ball guide.

[0039] The right angle and horizontal extension of the ball guide 74transports the ball to a more convenient location for the operator. Theright angle, however, results in increased backpressure in theextraction tube 64 and hampers quick delivery of the balls from theball-scrambling chamber 22. The open wire frame design for the ballguide greatly reduces the backpressure at the right angle and at theoutlet 72 of the ball extraction tube 64. The open wire frame design,and any ball guide having a plurality of openings therein, results inballs quickly extracting from the chamber because of a high velocityunimpeded upward airflow path. A ball guide 74 having a plurality ofopenings in its side wall, however, also results in the balls slowly,relative to the vertical velocity, rolling down the horizontal sectionof the ball guide 74. This is because there is very little air pressureexerted on the ball in the horizontal direction since the airflow exitsthe extraction tube 64 in a vertical air flow path through the open wireball guide 74.

[0040] The addition of an air flow director 96 with control air flowslots 98 mounted over the ball guide 74 allow a balance of minimalbackpressure at the right angle of the ball guide and sufficient airpressure exerted on the balls in the horizontal section of the ballguide. The air flow director 96 can comprise a shroud that is mountedover the upper periphery of the ball guide 74. The air director 96includes slots 98, which are spaced from the inlet 78 and the outlet 84of the ball guide 74, formed through the shroud along the length of theair director.

[0041] The air director 96 covers the entire length of the ball guide 74between the inlet 78 and the outlet 84 so that any balls that accumulatein the ball guide are not readable to the players. A player's ability toread the ball numbers that have accumulated in the ball guide 74 isperceived as an unfair advantage to players sitting at a distance whocannot see the balls in the guide. Therefore, the design of the slots 98in the air flow director 96 in this embodiment allow the players to seethe balls in the ball guide 74 but not easily read the numbers on theballs. The only important ball is the first ball in the seat 86; once ithas been displayed to the players, it has historical gaming significanceand must be processed into the ball tray 26.

[0042] A camera 102 is positioned below the ball seat 86 to capture animage of the ball and deliver the image to the electronics portion 14.To alleviate the issues of camera theft, exposed and abused cameracable, and hot spots/glare on the bingo ball caused by overheadlighting, the camera 102 mounts inside the console housing 20 underneaththe ball tray 26. In this location, the camera 102 is not casuallyaccessible to theft since it is securely fastened to the inside of theconsole housing 20. Also, in this location, the camera cable is nolonger exposed to operator abuse. A lens 104 of the camera 102 pointsupwards towards the bottom of the ball seat 86. The ball shades the lens104 to greatly reduce or eliminate glare on the ball from ambientlighting conditions.

[0043] A light source 106 is provided adjacent the camera lens to lightthe ball in the seat 86. With reference to FIG. 5A, the light source106, which in this embodiment is an LED circuit board, positions sixLEDs 108 in a circular fashion evenly spaced by 60 angular degreesaround the camera lens 104. The LEDs 108 emit a white light in the 500nm wavelength range. For all practical purposes, each LED 108 generatesa point of light. To avoid hot spots on the ball, the six point sourcesof LED light are diffused and the very bright light emitted on thecenter line axis of each LED 108 is not be pointed directly at thespherical ball surface. The wider the projecting angle, which in apreferred embodiment is greater than 90 degrees, of the LED source, themore uniform the light intensity becomes over wide viewing angles.Therefore, the combination of wide angle projecting LEDs spaceduniformly and optically overlapping around the camera and the use of awhite diffuser 112 mounted above the LEDs 108 results in a uniformlighting source for the ball. The top surface of the LED circuit boardhas no or very limited solder mask such that the bright tin plating onthe top surface of the LED circuit board copper becomes a flat reflectorwith no focal point to redirect any secondary reflections of LED 108light back into the white diffuser 112. Since the diffused light sourceis a constant, the ambient lights can be bright, normal, dim, or evenoff and the camera ball image shows little effect. Without glare andwith constant diffused lighting, the success of optically decoding theball number is greatly enhanced.

[0044] In an alternative embodiment, a ball guide support bracket 132,as seen in FIG. 4, can support the ball and have the camera 102 (notshown in FIG. 4) mounted underneath an opening 134 in the supportbracket. The support bracket 132 includes left, right and center notches136 to receive the peg 94 (FIG. 3). Since the ball guide 74 can berotated, the support bracket 132 can receive the ball guide in differentlocations. The ball guide support 132 can have a matted surface facingthe camera lens 104 to minimize reflections.

[0045] The operator removes the ball from the ball seat 86 and places itin a corresponding opening 114 in the ball tray 26. Corresponding ballswitches 116 are located under each opening 114 in the ball tray 26.Ball switches 116 are each made of rubber with conductive carbon buttonsthat come in contact with circuitry on a circuit board 118. The circuitboard 118 in this particular embodiment is gold plated, however it couldbe made from another suitable material. In one embodiment having 75 ballswitches, there are 15 ball switches 116 per circuit board and fivecircuit boards to complete the 75-ball switch matrix. An additionalcircuit board can be added for a 90-ball console. The rubber switches116 provide a means of protecting the circuit board contacts if anoperator's drink spills thereby increasing the performance of thisdevice over the use of conventional, unsealed switch technologytypically used in current products.

[0046] Balls that have been extracted from the ball-scrambling chamber22 and placed through the openings 114 in the ball tray 26 fall into aball holding chamber 122 having a sloped bottom wall 124 that is slopedtoward the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The ball holding chamber 122 isseparated from the ball-scrambling chamber 22 by the rear wall 32 of theball-scrambling chamber 22. A door 126 that can be selectively opened bythe operator is formed in the rear wall so that the balls stored in theball holding chamber 122 can be quickly transferred back into theball-scrambling chamber 22. Further static control measures, and alsooperator safety measures of this device, are the grounding of the metalball tray 26, the metal ball holding chamber 122, and the metal backplate 32 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22. During the course of thebingo game, the operator is in continuous contact with the groundedmetal surfaces of the ball tray 26 and ball guide 74 thereby reducingoperator charge build up and neutralizing any charge on the bingo ballsas they are handled.

[0047] The device has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur toothers upon reading and understanding the preceding detaileddescription. It is intended that the exemplary embodiment be construedas including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they comewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scramblingchamber accommodating at least one associated ball and including a balloutlet; a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chambervia the ball outlet; and an outer chamber receiving the ball-scramblingchamber, wherein the ball-scrambling chamber comprises an airimpermeable wall separating the ball-scrambling chamber from the outerchamber.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the ball-scrambling chamberand the outer chamber share a wall comprising a reflective surface. 3.The device of claim 1, further comprising an electrostatic discharge matdisposed on a wall of the ball-scrambling chamber
 4. The device of claim3, wherein the electrostatic discharge mat comprises a rubberized mat.5. The device of claim 3, further comprising an air blower and an airinlet defined in the ball-scrambling chamber through which the airblower communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber.
 6. The device ofclaim 5, wherein the electrostatic discharge mat includes an openingaligned with the air inlet such that air passes through the opening inthe electrostatic discharge mat en route to the ball-scrambling chamber.7. The device of claim 1, further comprising an antistatic stripdisposed along an inner periphery of the ball-scrambling chamber.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the ball guide comprises a tube having anapproximately circular cross section.
 9. The device of claim 8, furthercomprising a ball extraction tube disposed in the ball-scramblingchamber and in communication with the ball guide.
 10. The device ofclaim 8, further comprising a metal collar attaching the ball guide tothe outer chamber lid with a pivotal means.
 11. The device of claim 10,wherein the ball guide comprises a metal material.
 12. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising ball seat for supporting an associated ballthat has exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and wherein the ball guideincludes a ball outlet situated vertically to the seat of the ballsupport.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the ball seat includes anopening.
 14. The device of claim 13, further comprising a camerapositioned below and aligned with the ball seat.
 15. A random gamingselection device console comprising: a housing; a ball-scramblingchamber attached to the housing; a ball support for supporting anassociated ball that has been removed from the ball-scrambling chamber;and a camera disposed in the housing and positioned to picture theassociated ball on the ball support.
 16. The device of claim 15, whereinthe ball support includes an opening and the camera includes a lensaligned with and disposed underneath the opening.
 17. The device ofclaim 15, further comprising a light source disposed adjacent thecamera, wherein the light source directs light toward the ball support.18. The device of claim 17, wherein the light source comprises aplurality of LEDs.
 19. The device of claim 17, further comprising a ballguide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber and the ballsupport, wherein the ball guide comprises a circular cross-section and aplurality of openings.
 20. A random gaming selection device comprising:a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support communicating with theball-scrambling chamber for supporting associated balls removed from theball scrambling chamber; and a light source positioned adjacent to anddirecting light towards the ball support to illuminate an associatedball held therein.
 21. The device of claim 20, wherein ball supportincludes an opening where the associated ball rests and the light sourceis positioned below the opening.
 22. The device of claim 21, wherein thelight source comprises a plurality of spaced lights positioned around aperiphery of the opening.
 23. The device of claim 22, further comprisinga camera for picturing the associated ball supported on the ballsupport.
 24. The device of claim 23, wherein the camera includes a lensand the plurality of lights are positioned around the periphery of thelens.
 25. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scramblingchamber; a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exitedthe ball-scrambling chamber; and a ball guide located outside theball-scrambling chamber, the ball guide including a ball inlet forreceiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet fordelivering balls towards the ball support, wherein the ball guideincludes at least one vent opening spaced from the ball inlet and theball outlet.
 26. The device of claim 25, wherein the ball guidecomprises a wire form defining a plurality of openings.
 27. The deviceof claim 25, further comprising a shroud mounted to the wire form. 28.The device of claim 25, further comprising a ball extraction tubelocated in the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball extraction tubeincluding an outlet communicating with the ball inlet of the ball guide.29. The device of claim 28 further comprising a ball guide that pivotsrelative to the console and relative to a stationary ball extractiontube,
 30. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scramblingchamber; a ball support including a ball seat for supporting associatedballs that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber; and a ball guidecommunicating with the ball-scrambling chamber and including a ballinlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a balloutlet for delivering balls towards the ball support, wherein the balloutlet is positioned vertically to the ball seat.
 31. The device ofclaim 30, further comprising a stopper positioned adjacent the ballseat.
 32. The device of claim 31, further comprising a downwarddeflector positioned adjacent the ball outlet.
 33. The device of claim30, further comprising an antistatic mat disposed on a lower wall of theball-scrambling chamber.
 34. A random gaming selection devicecomprising: a console including a ball-scrambling chamber; a ballsupport for supporting associated balls that have exited theball-scrambling chamber; a ball guide pivotally mounted to the consoleand located outside the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball guideincluding a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scramblingchamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support.35. The device of claim 34, wherein the ball guide contacts the ballsupport.
 36. The device of claim 35, further comprising a ball guidesupport, wherein the ball guide includes a peg and the ball guidesupport includes a notch dimensioned to receive the peg.
 37. The deviceof claim 36, wherein the ball support includes an opening where theassociated ball rests and the opening is aligned with the notch and acentral axis of the ball guide support bracket.
 38. A random gamingselection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball supportfor supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scramblingchamber; an extraction tube disposed in the ball-scrambling chamber; anda ball guide disposed outside the ball-scrambling chamber, wherein theball guide communicates with the extraction tube.